Daughter of a Ninja
by Ugliehchibi
Summary: Due to a plague that has hit the village, many of the current generation have been infected with a chakra eating virus, which will kill them by the time they are 20. Naoko Uzumaki-Uchiha wanting to live longer and out of her parent's control, she works on a cure that will extend her life and the lives of her comrades. Original Characters alongside Naruto Canon. Rate M for language
1. Chapter 1: Naoko

Daughter of a Ninja, Chapter 1, Naoko

Naoko's POV

_Today couldn't have been a more perfect day. Team 9 was going to take charge of training early this morning at five am like every other week day. Sai-sensei was monotone as usual but was interested in teaching us how to fight in unfair situations. But I couldn't help but think, aren't all fights unfair? But here I was, sitting in front of my mirror with my usual gauze tightly wrapping it around my stomach and chest. I'm sixteen and my body has changed rapidly this last year. My limbs are all sorts of in the way, knocking me into everything; doors, door frames, my parents, the kitchen table, a flag pole... I haven't been any where that I haven't whacked the shit out of myself for one reason or another. Guess I've taken after my mother or something... I wanted to bind myself though to help keep things normal, my bust is too big, my hips are starting to become too wide and it makes training with the guys so awkward, they are always grabbing me inappropriately any chance they get. No matter how much I try I cannot hide my body… I wonder what genjutsu I can get my father to teach me to help hide this._

Peeking past the kitchen frame door, a blond head and blue bandanna poked out to gaze upon the nice and hot food sitting on the table with a note folded neatly beside it. Walking over to the steaming rice, Naoko picks up the note and drinks from the carton of iced coffee.

"_Naoko-chan, Have a great day training, I'll see you tonight for our dinner gathering! -Naru"_

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at her mother's atrocious hand writing, she couldn't help but smile. Short and sweet was her mother's style and that's how she liked it. Sitting down to the plate of cheesy toast, lettuce and rice, she mumbled "itadakimasu," before taking her chop sticks and attacking the rice. Glancing to the side, she noticed a black cat had found its way to the open window seal in the living room. The eyes on the damn thing were bright green and slanted giving Naoko the creeps. But lowering her glance she sighed and released the genjutsu the cat was under. The cat then transformed back into his ninja self. "Hn, you're no fun Naoko."

"Hn yourself Hinagi. Why do you have to turn into a cat? You know they freak me out..." she said as her glare returned as she took a bit out of her toast. Hinagi was one of her first friends at the academy. He was mysterious and practically a no-body. He didn't smile and almost seemed like an insomniac with the dark shadows under his eyes, or maybe that was really eye liner? That is until Naoko started slinging rubber bands at him during class. Getting one too many to the face and fed up he soon starting to fling a dozen or so back, bouncing them off of chairs and the wall to hit her in different directions to make her look the other way. After a rubber band war and many red marks later, Naoko admitted he had skill and called a truce. He admitted that was more fun than it should have been, so they were friends ever since.

"You're starting to sound like my father" she smirked. "Yo are yah hungry? Dad made enough for two here."

"You know I don't like eating breakfast". His face was plain except for a slight lift in his left eyebrow.

"But that's the most important meal of the day!" She threw some cheesy bread at his face and he caught it with his teeth. Wincing slightly he held it in his hand giving it a sour look. "It tastes burnt. You sure your dad can cook?"

Finishing her rice she shook her head and placed everything in the sink. "It tastes fine. Stop being so picky Hinagi. You'd be surprised with your energy level if you ate something in the mornings." Grimacing Hinagi looked at the toast again and took another bite, almost regretting it. "I'd like to argue that I'm perfectly fine when I train in the morning." Placing her pouch on her right leg, she slipped her sandals on and formed a hand sign.

"You ready to go? If we're late, Sai-sensei might draw some torture chamber for us." Scratching the back of his head, he nodded and made a similar hand sign. "I'll beat you there" and with a puff of smoke they vanished from the living room and reappeared in the training grounds.

The loud hum of bugs in the morning light were waking up the rest of the wild life in the trees around the grounds, where a meditative medic ninja sat against a tree performing hand signs to bring out coils of water from two gourds; each coil wrapping around each other creating ripples and mist to sprinkle around the sitting ninja. The calming effect around the training grounds was pleasant enough.

"Well, looks like someone finally decided to show up" The water ninja opened one eye and glanced their way; the water then returning back to the gourds. As he popped the corks back into the gourds he stood to stretch.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Naoko settled for putting her fist on her hip and smirking at the fellow. "Ohiyo to you too Katsuhiko, it's so nice of you to actually be on time this morning." She paused staring at him. "I'm surprised you haven't started training yet."

"Oh but I have Naoko-_chan_" showing a toothy grin, he leaned forward and dissolved into the ground, turning into a splash of water and reappearing up behind Naoko to lean over her shoulder. Being almost six inches over her, bending down and whispering in her ear was done in a swift notion. His warm breath tickled her ear sending a flush to her cheeks. "I already done today's warm ups, including my meditation on how to get back at Sai-sensei for last week's embarrassing workout around the village."

"You seem to be fluid enough this morning-" Cutting back, she gave a swift kick back, turning just enough to hit her foot and ankle alongside Katsuhiko's face. Almost instantly on impact he turned into a puddle of water again spraying her slightly. "Don't call me chan! I'm not a little girl anymore." With a cheeky grin Katsuhiko came up from the soil to salute her and squirted water at her face like a gun with his finger. "You're little, you're the youngest of team 9 but don't be so sour about my honorific towards you"

Glaring she balled her fists at her side "There is nothing honorific about _chan._" Almost as if on cue, Hinagi came up to the back side of Katsuhiko and thumped him across the head with his knuckles. "Leave Naoko alone, you're one to talk when your mother tends to call you her little nugget when you leave your house in the mornings..."

"How dare you!" Katsuhiko couldn't hide the embarrassing and angry red tint that covered his face as he lunged forward to tackle Hinagi. However, being used to this and two steps ahead, Hinagi took a turn to the right and let Katsuhiko fall to the ground.

Sai being the quiet one just walks up with a smirk and a wave caught everyone's attention almost like a reflex. The three jonin stood erect as Sai approached them handing each of them a scroll. The three students acted as if none of the fighting ever happened.

"Hello again, I assume you know what today's training shall be about. You three are in need of working on this new jutsu I have formed, which is in need of all three of you to participate to make it work.

"Sai-sensei" Naoko looked at the scroll and quickly put her hand up "You can't be serious! I know this jutsu when I see it and I know why it takes three people, I don't want to be a part of it if you want this done!" A worried look crossed her face when she glanced back at her teammates and then back at Sai.

"Do you now? What is this jutsu then?" his expression blank as ever. No hint what so ever to give off he knew which jutsu she was talking about.

Both teenagers looked at Naoko as if she grew a tail and pointy ears, they couldn't think of any jutsu that would make someone as nervous as Naoko was acting.

"You know which one sensei! The same one my... parents used. That's kinda how I'm here now isn't it?"

She looked down at an interesting pattern in the grass by her boots and her eyes followed the path between each blade and pursed her lips.

"Naoko, you have learned not to cut me off so early in my explanation. I have no intention of using that jutsu. Have you forgotten your father's law so soon?" Sai's blank expression stayed but his head tilted to the side, causing Naoko to blush again once she reached the realization.

"What are you talking about Nao?" Katsuhiko said as he poked at her a couple of times. With no quick answer from her, Hinagi chimed in.

"Don't be so dense Katsuhiko, we were taught this back at the academy and reminded when we first met Naoko... this jutsu was created and used to make some of the most powerful Jonin and Chunin in our generation." Pulling out a small hand scroll from his back pocket he opened it up and placed his seal on the paper, allowing his sand to summon up and form as three basic ninja, two boys and a girl. Naoko nodded at him to continue.

"When the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade, had ended the war with her top Chunin Ninja, she granted them something they had always wanted. I'm sure you remember them, the rogue ninja and last of his clan Sasuke Uchiha and Konoha's famous demon container, Naruto Uzumaki."

Katsuhiko nodded remembering the story now. "That's right, Naoko-chan's parents. Which I had forgot to ask, how you came to be since they are both... you know…male." He glanced over at Naoko who had a visible sweat drop.

Hinagi moved the sand ninja to form seals and picked up where he started. "I was getting to that. Naruto being the Kyuubi holder had a certain amount of untapped chakra that was used for this particular jutsu."

"Give me the shortened version Hinagi, we are wasting daylight." Katsuhiko's hands were starting to get antsy and he resorted to just sticking them in his pockets.

"Well, Naruto wanted to have a child with Sasuke. They were friends who turned into rivals who turned into lovers. They wanted to revive both of their families and decided on a new jutsu that could help them do it, considering they were both male. They picked their third teammate, Sakura Hurano to be a surrogate mother, and with the jutsu were able to combine their DNA through chakra and get Sakura pregnant." The sand then showed Naruto and Sasuke with a baby that resembled somewhat like Naoko when she was born.

Katsuhiko's mouth dropped to the floor. He resembled a gold fish for a few seconds then shook his head in understanding. "That wasn't really a short version, but whoa…" looking at Naoko again, he defiantly became more interested in her past. He has always been curious but now she had his full attention.

Naoko rolled her eyes and looked at Sai. "There are a lot of things we are going to leave out now, but I don't want to have to be reminded of my birth. It is a pretty odd one. I just didn't want to get caught up in that jutsu... I'm too young."

Sai turned his gaze from Hinagi to Naoko once more. "Thank you for re-informing the team about the '_Thunder of Radiant Flames' jutsu._ But Naoko I do not wish to use this jutsu. I have come up with my own jutsu that has to do with bringing your enemy into submissiveness and using him/her for leeching chakra and information. I have decided to name this the '_Dying Sinner's Hidden Tombs'_ jutsu."

"Okay Sensei, lay it on us" Katsuhiko stated in a grin, sitting on a boulder with his knee up with elbow resting on it.

The three perked up again and drank in the new information on this technique. Using Naoko's Sharingan from her father, she would use it to make an enemy into giving her any information, with this Katsuhiko's leeching water jutsus for chakra, while Hinagi uses his freezing methods to keep the enemy in place for as long as he desired.

The technique seemed to work on the outside, but Sai understood he needed to work this out fully with the Fifth Hokage before they used it in a future mission. The team split up after a day's worth of training and getting most of these moves recorded to make the jutsu work. Team 9 dispersed before the sun set fully.

It wasn't until after eight or so that Naoko returned to the Uchiha Mansion. The sliding door clicked close as she came inside. "Tadaima!" as she slipped her shoes off at the door, she crooked her neck hearing her parents in what sounded like the kitchen, pans rustling and them walking around.

"Sasuke! You're taller; get that glass bowl up there for me would you?" Naruto said as he swung around the refrigerator getting out eggs, milk, and some fruit.

"Why do you put glass bowls on the top shelf anyways? Who does this? You or Naoko are gonna get killed pulling these things out someday" Sasuke reached up and grabbed the bowl effortlessly and sat it on the counter top next to the mixer that Naruto had laid out.

"Teme, is there ever a time that I can ask you something and you just do it without complaining?" Naruto said as he pursed his lips out and poked his lover in the chest.

"Hn" The famous 'hn' again, Naruto had heard it too many times this day and about had it with the attitude that Sasuke would just not drop. Sasuke replied "I have done what you asked haven't I? Why can't you just stop being a dobe for once and keep our family safe from killer glass bowls?"

"You know Teme; I'm going to shove a lamp up your ass so you'll lighten up already."

Glancing at the two of them, Naoko just shook her head and smiled and repeated herself. "Tadaima!"

Naruto whipped around smiled sheepishly and wiped his hands on his apron before coming over to Naoko and giving her a hug. "Okairi Naoko, how was training today?" he went back to grabbing things out of the fridge. Sasuke just smirked as he messed with Naoko's hair.

"Okairi sweet heart. Learn anything new today?" Sasuke asked. Grinning and shedding her coat she made her way to the table with the mixing bowl, sticking her finger into the batter and licking it. "Same shit different day Papa." Naruto looked at her disapprovingly but just went back to his baking.

"But Sai-sensei is teaching us a new jutsu he's come up with. I think he's going to go over it with you and the council later this week Daddy." She looked up to notice Naruto hasn't taken his Hokage coat off yet, even though he's been home for at least a few hours.

"I see. He did brief me on it, once you and the team work it out maybe you should show your father?" Naruto pointed to Sasuke with his chin and continue to stir the batter. Sasuke nodded at Naoko before drinking some water from the tap. "Yeah show me. We haven't trained in a few weeks due to all my missions; I'd like to see how you've improved and what you're working on."

"Sure thing Papa." Dinner that night went on peacefully with her family, and after being in bed for a few hours, she was thinking about how she was always training with her father. How he pushed her in great lengths and wanted her to succeed as a ninja. Even though she enjoyed training with both of her fathers, she decided that her true potential was to be a medic ninja following in the footsteps of the late Hurano. Naruto agreed with her and supported her going to medical school. She knew being a medic ninja would come in handy when Team 9 needed to go out on a lengthy mission. She also had her personal goal behind being a medic ninja, one relating to hers and others special births.

She knew that the ' _Thunder of Radiant Flames ' _jutsu had the side effect of killing the woman who bared the child. With her persistent studying these past four years, she was close to a break through about how the mother could survive the process of this fusion jutsu. She just needed some more time to run tests and a few different options.

Speaking of said experiments, Naoko jumped out of bed and made her way down to the basement with a small door just under the stair ways. She had used a cloaking device given to her by her by the Hokage to cover this door from her parents. Again, she needed to ask her father about genjutsu... Entering, she sighed and grabbed her lab coat. There were shelves with numerous medical books and scrolls. On her main desk, there were ritual scrolls, some of them forbidden that she had stolen from her father and others she had written in for notes. These seals were the ones used to perform '_Thunder of Radiant Flames'_. Others as well like_ 'Infernal Driven jutsu', _and _'Ritual of nothingness'. _These had all been performed by the Hokages, even her grandfather Minato.

Naoko sat on her chair and pulled her hair up into a bun, rolling over to a cage of rats, she started to write her daily observations of them in a journal, deep in thought about the next move and how their seals will transform their bodies. These were nerve racking procedures because the rats kept dying until the perfect DNA codes started to match up in certain breeds of rats. She concluded after about eight months of observation and what seemed like thousands of chakra tests, that due to her selection, she could take parts of the DNA needed to make functional offspring, and the new generation of rats would become hybrids of their parent's chakra lines.

That night was long for Naoko as she stayed up far into the wee hours of the morning, not noticing the sun come up through the small window of her secret basement lab.

* * *

Hi yall! I'm new in the ways of writing, but I've been a fan of for years. This is my first fic, but I've been dying to write it. All reviews, edits, critiques are greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoy this series and the journey we will go through together in this. -Ugliehchibi. P.S this is not a one shot... I despise one shots. Also, I'm assuming that the people who read this know some basic Japanese words. If you are confused about them, just PM me okay? Thanks again for reading! :D


	2. Chapter 2: Make it Home

Daughter of a Ninja, Chapter 2, Make it home

Naoko had just got done applying the paralyzing gel on all of her kunai and a touch of dendrobatidae on the tips. How she loved using poison dart frogs for her close and long ranged attacks. When she first heard about these brightly colored frogs from a friend in the northern part of the Fire country, it was like love at first sight. She could easily apply these serums to any of her weapons and take down even the biggest of apes in a matter of minutes.

Through her trials with the poison on different runaway ninja, she found it worked fastest when struck into the side of the neck or just under the arm. She knew of the chakra lines and the regular blood supply, and under thirty seconds her enemy would start to have raised senses, exhilarated heartbeat, start to foam at the mouth, and bleeding in the brain. They would start to have tremors and seizures until their hearts flat lined. All this in fewer than four minutes and not one person has survived her poison wrath.

With all of her kunai finally lined up and placed in a traveling scroll, she stood from her lab table and stretched. "Well, that was another night of failure, but I can only keep trying. Better get back before daddy sees me missing."

Sasuke was sitting at the table that morning sipping slowly on his black coffee. The smell both alerted and soothed him from a night of adventurous activity with his blond lover. Glancing up, he felt a strong but familiar chakra presence outside of the patio facing the pond. '_Naoko must have gotten back from her early run. Good, then she'll be ready to train with me. I have to let her know today too...' _He thought. Sitting the mug in the sink he heard the door slide open and click shut, Naoko catching her breath and slipping her shoes off.

"Oh" she jumped in place but smiled. "Morning papa, I thought you had the day off from missions today, shouldn't you be sleeping in?" She grinned and put her hands behind her back.

"Naoko, you know I never sleep past 5:45 in the morning. Besides," the darker haired ninja glanced at the spot in front of Naoko's feet, noticing the way her feet are placed; he could tell she was hiding something from him. Her eyes had a slight ring under them, resembling him. He thought that looked familiar to when he stayed up all night to study. He glanced back up "I figured we could start training earlier than originally planned. I'd like to see your progress since I've been gone so much."

Nodding and replacing her hands at her side she looked at his assertive gaze and straightened up. "Yes sir." Honestly she was happy when he wanted to train, but a full night of running experiments might have had an effect on her, she prayed to any god listening that he wouldn't of noticed.

"Meet me at 0730 hours at the edge of the lake." With that he turned and left out the front door. Without a second glance she was returning to her room, grabbing her usual gauze and stuffing it in her nap sack on her leg. Finding her forehead protector and tying her hair up in its usual pigtails, she deemed herself ready to face whatever her father would serve. She only hoped he wouldn't pry too much into what little personal life she has.

Standing at the dock, the two glanced at each other. Sasuke in his Anbu black ops uniform, hair blowing in front of his face and the warm rays just reaching the sky his face was gentle toward her but soon he looked serious and started to stand in an authoritative style, almost ready to give her some drill they would be working on.

Naoko noticed how young her father actually looked, why he hadn't aged at all the in the last fifteen years. Shaking her head, she'd ask him another time about the family youthful complexions. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to give her a 'talk' about something. Right now, she needed to also voice her opinion on the abundance of Anbu surrounding her at all times. In all her life she hadn't ever been left alone, even when both of her parents were out on dangerous missions. Someone was always there.

"Permission to speak, sir?" Swallowing her fear she looked at him for approval.

"Yes?" Simple enough of a statement, no hint of annoyance from her father, she took this as a good sign.

"Sir, I have noticed that Konohakagure has been strengthening security lately, especially around the Uchiha mansion. Yesterday was the first time I was able to go more than 500 yards away from the mansion to do training. Will you tell me why?"

Sasuke didn't change his appearance but knew what she was getting at. Blue eyes met Black again before Sasuke got into and held out his hand in front of him. He lightly tucked his fingers until just his index was pointing at the sky. "I'll tell you about the increased security if you can beat me in a sparring match. Specifically, break the chakra link in my finger."

Naoko knitted her brows to this and stared at his finger. Her heighten senses at this point could see the blue chakra emanating off of his finger. Tightening her jaw slightly she looked at him once more. "If I break your chakra link, you tell me about the security and why you keep me grounded like some teenager." It wasn't often she tried to raise the stakes with her father, knowing damn good and well that he wouldn't take that. Unless Naruto was around, then he might let it slide a little that is until their next training session.

In an instant, Sasuke was in front of her, and before her azure eyes could widen, he tapped her forehead right between the eyes. The chakra was so intense on impact that she flew backwards and skidding across the lake like a skipping rock.

He held his finger where her face was milliseconds ago, shaking it and his head. "Now, now Naoko, don't get ahead of yourself." He stepped down on to the water and watched as she came to a halt and bounced back.

Stopping before she could hit the banks, Naoko strained and pushed chakra into her feet, sliding across the water before standing and taking her defensive stance, she launched forward. Without her forehead protector she was sure that would of left one hell of a goose mark on her face and that was something she just _didn't_ want right now.

Katsuhiko would have a hay day with the round of insults he could pull out of that short sleeve of his. With a fist sprang back and her legs carrying her without consciously thinking, she activated her Sharingan. Stepping a split second before Sasuke, she throws her hand open over his eyes spraying the salty water, in the next instant she taps two fingers down on his wrist and again at his shoulder.

"Weak, Uchiha! You can do better!" She screamed before dashing around in a large circle around the blind raven. Cross catching the waves of the water until it started to form what looked like a water tornado in reverse.

Sasuke smirked at this. His eyes burned and his hand dropped for a mere second but it was enough for Naoko to avoid a second hit to a possible vital area. Although he didn't show it on his face, he was proud she was learning to use what was available around her, and her speed had significantly improved since their last training session.

Sai must have been teaching her right these past few years. But these sessions were more than just training for Naoko; he needed to prepare her for the worst. He needed to make this serious again. Blinking the irritation away, he forced slightly more chakra into his hand and looked up where Naoko was on top of this water whirlwind running at top speed.

"You may think this is a game sweet heart, but if you think you can play it better than me, think again!" To Sasuke she played just like Naruto would back in the valley of death. He leaped up hitting the sides of the tornado until he reached the top where his daughter was spinning deadly, grabbing her from behind and drilling her back down to the center.

He crashed with her and water powerfully collapsed on top of them, knocking the air out of their chests. Knocking her head back she hit Sasuke in the bridge of his nose. Blood fogged the water in front of him but he held on tight to the little rebellious girl. Once landing to the bottom of the lake, he kicked as hard as he could, forcing them up out of the water much like a dolphin would when coming up for air.

Elsewhere, Iruka sneezed and wiped his nose on his sleeve, questioning the cold season.

Sasuke threw Naoko out of his grip and drop kicked her in the side, sending her flying into the array of trees just along the side of the lake. With a large thwack and trees violently jarred, a pack of birds scattering out of the tops, Sasuke knew he'd gotten her where he needed her. He dashed through the top of the water and into the forest.

Naoko coughed and spit some blood on to the bark of the tree she was racked against, growling she got up and leaped on to other tree branches easily as if they were stairs. Finding the right tree trunk with enough leverage, she pulled out the now soaking wet gauze from her pouch. It didn't matter that it was wet it would still hold together what she needed. Checking the area in all directions and deeming it safe for a moment, she started to wrap the gauze around her waist, tightening the hold once it got up to her bust.

Sasuke, merely on the other side of the tree, glanced at how tight she was wrapping herself, his eyes lowered.

"Naoko, do you have a proper reason to bind yourself? You'll make genjutsu all the more difficult to perform."

She rolled her eyes, clipping the last of the gauze at her side. She knew he could see that, but she didn't care. "You think I don't know that?! It's my body. Let me do what I want with it!" Digging into her pouch again, she found four pins, quickly reapplying the poison to each tip. Squatting up, she saw his body in the same stance as herself.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't a girl. This is too much useless weight. It's always in the way. If I were a boy, I could have it as easy as you and daddy." Placing a kunai in her mouth she whipped around and tracked Sasuke once more.

"Besides! Who needs genjutsu? I know more than you think I do father." Kicking off the stump she launches at Sasuke once more.

Glaring, the Uchiha steps, ready to catch his daughter and throw her back to the ground. He notices her pins.

"You're such a child Naoko. You need to learn to control your chakra, the fire inside of you; inside of all of us."

All three of his darts hit him square in the chest. With a grunt, he implodes, the shadow clone going up in smoke. Naoko curses under her breath, but kicks off the next tree flawlessly. Biting her lip, she judges and follows his moves once more, three more clones following as they meet in the middle throwing kicks and punches.

The Sharingan between them makes their world slowdown in motion, each punch dodged or blocked with a palm or knee, each kick just off by a hair, everything seemed predictable until Naoko pulled back and started to form her hand signs for the first time in front of Sasuke. She was more than determined to make him understand her.

Realization hits and his eyes dart to her hands performing each sign in a split second. Horse-Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger. "No! Naoko don't! Your chakra-!" he screams, but it's too late, before he can break the signal, she's already pulling in in her breath and cheeks filled, with her head raged forward, she screams as a massive fire ball starts to plummet toward Sasuke, engulfing him. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

Sasuke couldn't believe it, she was using his signature attack again him. He didn't understand, there was no one else to teach her that, no one left in the clan. Naruto hasn't even mastered that technique yet it was supposed to be impossible with her limited chakra line. All his worst fears came true about his little girl this instant. With a bright explosion, the ground beneath them crumbled, debris flying all sorts of directions, rumbling all the way up to the mansion, Naruto waking from everything shaking like a fissure.

"What the fuck was that?" the blond fell from the bed and dashed toward the window down by the patio. Seeing the giant fireball, he panicked about Sasuke using that on Naoko and how it could, and would kill her if she hadn't taken the right precautions for that. Without so much getting his shoes, Naruto tapped into his chakra and sprinted towards the lake, his heart racing in fear of not making it to his little girl. "Naoko-!"

The smoke started to clear when a light gust of wind came by. Naoko stood there with burns around her cheeks; the smoke resisted leaving her clothes, face and hair. She watched her father lay on the ground in front of her; raise himself to his elbows looking at her in complete shock. Burns were on his arms and legs, dust and leaves covering him as well. Midnight eyes shook looking at the wobbling form in front of him.

'_Shit... I over did that one just a little bit'_ She smirked at him; her Sharingan faded returning to blue that then turned to gray. Slowly she reached for her pouch, shaking with difficulty trying to reach for something. '_I used up almost eighty percent that time. I need my... shit, where is it?' _She thought. It was so almost too much talk with a sore throat. With too much difficulty, she fell to one knee and looked at her dad again. "Y-you... lose...hn now tell me..." the smile she had been too characteristically like Itachi's by Sasuke's memory. She coughed some blood and put her hand on her chest, finally falling to her back.

Sasuke bolted upright despite the racketing annoyance over his body. "Shit Naoko!" Grabbing her wrist and shoulder he lifted her up and held her to his chest, checking over her face and her vitals. "Naoko don't go to sleep, stay awake! Stay awake damn it!" He was yelling but he couldn't shake the horrible feeling pooling in his stomach and chest. He heard stomping feet behind him, feeling it was Naruto he turned to him and nearly burst into tears. "Naruto!"

"Sasuke what the fuck happened?! Naoko baby what did you do?!" He didn't actually have time to think about what he was doing, his hands started to just move of his own accord. He ripped open her gauze and let her take some deep breaths before she started to cough violently. Naruto checked her chakra lines and nearly choked. Her chakra was becoming so depleted that her heart was doing working over time trying to make up for the previous actions. Without a second though he immediately was starting to pour his chakra into her chest, trying to get her body's actions under control. What he didn't understand was that he was now reaching for her pouch on her right leg, pulling out a vile with three small pills in it. Almost like in a dream he knew what this was for and popped open cork, taking the pill and putting it in her mouth.

'_That's right daddy, that's the one. Help me swallow it I don't have much time' _

Naruto was hearing her thoughts, much like when the Kyuubi is talking to him during battle or times of meditation. Her voice was clear and unbroken. He knew what ever this pill was, was going to save his little girl's life. He was scared, so scared right now but he didn't have any choice.

_'Good, now take me to Tsunade, she will know what to do.'_ Nodding he scrambled to pick her up. Sasuke though still in shock, handed her over. "What are we doing? We need to take her to the medic ward!"

"I know that!" he hissed. Shaking his head he couldn't explain everything right now he just knew he needed to move. "We need to take her to baa-chan, she can save Naoko" He vanished in a puff of smoke, Sasuke following right after.

The beeping in the room was becoming annoying, too annoying. Why must there always be a beeping when she wakes up? This was the best sleep she's had in weeks and it annoyed her enough to want to smash the beeping thing. Cracking an eye open she glanced to the side and noticed the heart monitor. Both eyes shot open this time, but maybe a little too fast, it was really bright today.

'_Oh that's right. I was with papa training and...Hey!' _Checking the room, she was alone couldn't move, her arm was stuck with an IV. She sighed, grabbing the cotton balls from the side of her bed; she held it to her arm with her chin while she took the IV out. Putting the green tape from the drawer around it, she cut it off and slowly sat up.

Her head didn't hurt; she checked her vitals and crawled to the end of the bed, grabbing the clip board with her results on it. "Okay, these are good results. I'm going to have to have them send these to me." Putting the clipboard back she got out of bed, still a little wobbly, but strong enough to walk to the door. Opening it while rubbing her eye, she checked the hallway. Many nurses and doctors were running around with injured ninja and faintly she heard her father's voice coming from the south end.

"Baa-chan, is she going to wake up soon?" He held his jacket in his hand and looked at her frantically. His eyes were red from the worrying tears he shed just moments before. He wouldn't let his worse fear seep through.

"Yes, she's just resting now Naruto. I don't think you need to worry any longer. Surprisingly even though her chakra depleted by almost eighty percent, whatever she made you feed her really did replenish her supply to almost full." Her hand rested on his shoulder and she smiled softly.

"I know, it was the weirdest thing. It's like we were communicating the same way I do with Kyuubi." He looked down and then sighed. "I'm just glad she's okay. I feel like I almost lost my baby..." stinging tears pricked at his eyes again, before he couldn't stop letting them fall. Tsunade pulled him into a hug and patted his back.

"Now, now Naruto. She's fine, you did what you needed to and now she can go home with you." She leaned him back and he wiped at his face. Sasuke came up behind him and pulled him close to his chest. His face and arms had burn ointment and bandages on them, but he held Naruto tightly as he finished his crying.

"Shh it's okay Naruto. She's fine. We did fine." he smiled rubbing circles into the blonds lower back. Naruto just nodded again sighed. "Sasuke, when did she learn that jutsu? Even the most skilled genin can't perform that attack. I can't perform that!" He looked up at him in glowing eyes demanding to know anything. He felt so helpless for his only child. "Why did you get her all riled up?! You know better Sasuke!" Naruto kept poking Sasuke hard in the chest at every word. Sasuke finally caught his hand and forced Naruto to calm down.

"You don't think I know that dobe? I know I provoked her. I wanted to push her to become better at her genjutsu. I understand I pushed her past her limit. But I needed to make sure she was going to be okay... we aren't going to live forever dobe. We got to make sure she can do this on her own one day."

Naruto shook his head violently and pulled his hands back. "Sasuke she's only sixteen! She needs to learn how to be a kid while she can."

"I understand that, I do. But think about it this way. What were we doing at sixteen? Even thirteen? I'm sure you and I have tasted death more than any shinobi has."

"Yes Sasuke I remember." rolling his eyes he scrunched his nose and ticked at the memory. "The only difference is the sickness that is going around. Its law that we keep our children bound, they will die from literal over exertion by chakra depletion. You know as well as I that this leach of a virus is something done by Orochimaru. That bastard is long gone but his followers have continued to do his dirty work, and now all of Konohakagure is suffering."

Sasuke blinked and took a step back, realizing Naruto couldn't be truer about the situation. This is the main reason he had amplified security, to take those drastic measures with the police force in Konohakagure and to follow Naoko at all times. He needed to tell her that. But it would have to be a different time.

"I know love. But we will find a way. We just need more time." Naruto snorted and shook his head. Something on the wall caught his attention and he stared for a bit. "Sasuke, I'm sending you on a mission. You're going to go to the land of waves and you're taking Naoko with you. Meet me in my office in an hour to get the briefing." Without another word, Naruto turned on his heel and headed for the Hokage's tower. Sasuke sighed and nodded, glancing at Tsunade before heading to Naoko's hospital room.

Tsunade watched the Uchiha disappear behind the door, and soon after she returned back to her office in the surgical ward. Looks like the pills she designed for this generation has actually come in handy. That was one of three pills she created with Naoko in secret. She needed to keep quiet about that, they still needed time to work on perfecting this new drug. Remembering easily when Naoko had proposed this treatment four years ago...

/_flashback/_

"_Tsunade, can I show you something?" Young Naoko just got back from testing her new theory on a set of lab rats._

"_Naoko, you've been working hard today. What have you learned from the observations?" _

_Sitting back and rubbing her knuckle Naoko looks up at the busty woman and grins. She hands Tsunade a clear capsule, one that has blue mist swimming around in it. "This, I believe is a new breakthrough for Konohakagure." _

_Tsunade took the capsule and shook it. The mist still swayed as though it were a current flowing. She looked at Naoko questioningly. "Now before you jump to the punch line, tell me. Is this chakra?" _

_Naoko smiled once again and nodded. "Not just any chakra, but chakras that can help revive a fallen humanoid ninja." Tsunade looked taken aback. She was intrigued. "Show me your experiment." Naoko then slid the clip board and twenty or so pages worth of data collected over the last few months towards Tsunade. "From my findings with these lab rats, I have found that when they are running dangerously low on chakra, almost to the brink of death, if I were to give them this obtained chakra, they are instantly replenished. Not having to worry about all the other medical procedures to get to regular levels." _

_Tsunade nodded and took some notes on the paper. "This seems to of worked for a while. Constant results all leading in positive outcomes. Which test batch is this pill?" _

_Naoko sighed once more. "Well finally, this one is the six hundred and eighty third test batch... the only thing is, now that I've found what works in lab rats, I have the whole other spectrum of what will work in a human." _

_The elder looked down at the capsule one more time, getting a feel for it before handing back to Naoko. "What do you propose we do?" _

"_I need to come up with someone who will donate their chakra for me... let me work with them on how to supply this treatment to humans. I think I know who is right for the job..." _

_Tsunade looked at her hopeful face, and nodded. They had a lot to work on, but she was determined to help find some answers for this disease. She was ready for it to end. /End Flashback/_

"Kuso..." the younger blond couldn't help panic at the pending doom that would be her father. She stumbled back to her bed and sat there. Not a second later, the door clicked open. Sasuke looked surprised but gave her a gentle smile.

"Naoko, how are you feeling?" scooting a chair up to her side of the bed, he sat down and took a hand into his. "I see you took the IV out. Was it bugging you?"

"You know I hate needles..." she glanced away at the lie. It wasn't a total lie, they were uncomfortable, but honestly she just didn't like things being pumped into her as she would just rather heal naturally. "I could feel yours and daddy's chakra spike... are you guys okay?" she paused, wondering if it was safe to talk about that yet.

Sasuke scratched the back of his head, looking down at the tile once more. He sighed then looked at Naoko straight in the eye. "Naoko, I need you to listen to me. Don't try and change the subject." His tone was serious, but he talked as if he was going to ground her from staying out late. Not that she ever had a chance; she was always at home thanks to him. "You scared the shit out of me today. What were you thinking? How did you manage to find out about the trade mark jutsu?" his eyes were glued to hers but she kept her equally stoic face, however her voice failed her. She tried again.

"You know I am not as oblivious as you think." fear struck her voice and made the other flinch. His eyes screamed disapproval wanting to retaliate but Naoko cut him off before he could barely open his mouth.

"I'm an Uchiha. A proud one, this means that naturally I'm a born fighter for the clan, that I know all the basics and advanced skills of a shinobi our status. I have trained hard every day since I was six years old to be better, to be as strong as you and Daddy." her eyes glazed over, she wasn't going to back down to her father's disapproval this day. "Due to all the bindings you and daddy have put on me the last ten years, I had to find a way out of it, to break those chakra seals." she held her breath and closed her eyes to the last par "I've been practicing jutsu controls behind your back using the scrolls from daddy's chamber." that last part was said all to quickly but she wasn't sorry. She needed to stay strong, for her family, for herself.

Sasuke was in disbelief. He felt relieved and scared at the same time knowing that his little girl had matured for her age, but was taking the most dangerous way of going about it. He thought she trusted him, with everything, but this made the decision brewing in the back of his mind more clear and recognized.

"I see that." Okay stern; Naoko could take that. The next part of that is what blew her away, almost shattering her background. "This is explains the Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu. Knowing this could have killed you today, I'm disappointed that you have become so selfish. I have no choice but to bind you completely to your mother and myself."

Heart beats. She swore she heard her heart beat as the room dropped a degree in temperature. She didn't know what binding he was talking about, knowing only the top notch sealing jutsu used on him previously when he came back from being a rogue ninja. Sasuke stood and looked down at Naoko in monotone eyes. "I'm sending you home with the Anbu. Pack your things; we leave at midnight for the ritual sealing."

Clenching her fist on the blanket till her knuckles turned white she glared up at her father. "I'm not going to the land of waves." She almost spat that, almost. Sasuke turned to her quickly and glared back. "You're not the one in control here. You're leaving with me and you'll be bound. Don't make me repeat myself. This is for your own good."

Four Anbu appeared in her room next to Sasuke and he gave them the signal. Each Anbu took her shoulders and hands, binding her, in the next instant she was at the Uchiha mansion, being thrown into her room the door locking behind her.

"Fuck." she muttered. She needed to get some help. If anyone knew things in the Land of Waves, she was going to call on her teammate, someone who would accept without a doubt. "Katsuhiko... I have a mission for you."

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Hi guys! I think this was a pretty quick update. I hope you're following along well enough. I'd just like to give a thanks to my beta, he's been doing a wonderful job of editing my work and giving me the inspiration to keep going. He's so awesome! Way to go ML! :D Again, all reviews and critiques are welcomed. I'm a big girl, I know how to take it.


	3. Chapter 3 - Land of Waves

Chapter 3: Break away

Had Naoko been running alongside her father and the other Anbu for this trip she would have been able to stay awake for most of it. Instead due to her injuries the day before, she was required to rest by Tsunade, which required Sasuke to carry her on his back. She felt humiliated since she was easily able to make the trip herself but as usual her father wouldn't have it and didn't let her touch the ground other than to use the bathroom or eat. This whole situation seemed to be more trouble than it was worth to her but she knew her father had good intentions. That's why she respectfully was going to break those intentions. Naoko couldn't stand the thought of never using her chakra again; it's what made her a ninja and one of the best not only in her family but the rest of Konohakagure.

She wasn't going to let this happen, instead she had already came up with a plan the night before that made her pat herself on the back. It was fool proof and she only had a small opening of time to complete that plan. It would be three days until she made it to the small Land of Waves, due SE of Konoha, there the binding ritual would be a tedious procedure that would require the focus and concentration of all twelve Anbu. Why did her father have to bring so many? It didn't matter, all she knew was she knew her father too well and that would be his own demise. She shook her head at the irony of how that sounded.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder back at Naoko and stopped on a branch under the shade. "Something wrong Naoko? Are you hurting again?"

"No Sir, just a few bugs hit my face is all, they are in swarms this year aren't they?" she looked sheepishly at him. Patting his shoulder she took out her water bottle and gave it to him. "You don't have to carry me dad, I can run on my own. You don't need to be wearing yourself down so much." He shook his head and gave back the water bottle after a few gulps. "Stop that, I have never had trouble carrying you before. In fact you've lost weight and I'm a little worried about that... Besides remember the story of me carrying your father for a week straight when we were fleeing a group of enemy black ops?"

He was trying to make things easy again like the binding was never going to happen, he always started to try to make things easier by telling one of the more popular 'love stories' her daddy would tell her about how they got together those many years ago. She never got tired of those stories, but now that's all they were, old stories. She didn't want to hear those anymore; she wanted to make new ones. Fighting enemy lines, going into battle not knowing the worst or even expecting to win; those were the adventures of a life time and either go hard or go home. '_Or in this case, go hard or commit suicide next to the lake to keep my family honor...ugh.'_ She almost rolled her eyes at that, almost. That was her second motto next to finding a cure...

"Okay. But promise me one thing that when we get to the Land of Waves, I can at least walk the bridge by myself..." a smirk played on her face and Sasuke returned the favor in his eyes. He nodded at her before picking up the speed again. It wasn't until night fall that the group stopped by a waterfall to make camp.

Dinner went by quietly, while everyone else was setting up to get ready for sleep, Naoko wondered by the giant rocks surrounding the water fall. Looking down it appeared rather pleasant as the water splashed quietly against the rocks and pebbles, slipping a foot out of her sandal she let her toes play in the cool water. It wasn't too bad actually considering how hot and muggy the day it was. She decided this would be a good time for a cool bath and to meditate. Blond hair fell from either side of her head and waved down past her waist. _I feel disgusting with all this hair. I liked this when I was little but... I feel this will need to change. _

Two kunai hit a couple trees on either side of Naoko, each carrying trip wire and a cloth. She gave a signal above her head with two fingers, letting her father know she was fine to bathe by herself. He was hiding; she could feel his chakra about 4 yards to her right. Soon after that, she felt him shift, he was close, but far enough to give her a moment of privacy. Finally comfortable under the water fall she crossed her legs and put her meditation into motion.

Icy drops hit her shoulders and ran down her bust sending a nice way of euphoria down to her base. This was refreshing; this was something she could do all the time. _If only there were more of these back at home in the village, I might not of been so upset at being home all the time._ Popping her neck and rolling from side to side, she assumed the sign of the rat as her eyes closed for a moment. She slumped forward soon after, completely in a meditative state. Soon remembering the mission her team mate should be playing out.

/Flash Back/

"Okay, dad wants to play dirty, I can play dirty too." violently pulling her bed away from the wall, Naoko jumped over and slammed her hand down floor, two levers popped up and each cranked to the left then the right. Opening the secret compartment on the floor, she drug out a box that held a package inside with a bundle of scrolls. Pulling out a red scroll she unraveled it across her bed. Biting her thumb and forming the hand sign 'ram', her focus became clear. Tracing his name in blood, Naoko smeared across the scroll and finally summoning her familiar and with a puff a smoke he appeared.

"Koumori... I summon you." A small screech filled her room but after a moment, the bat had shook its wings and walked forward to Naoko.

"I need you to take this to Katsuhiko, my friend. It is urgent he gets this parcel. Make haste." Naoko slipped on a four ounce bottle to the back of the bat and opened the window. With a nod, the bat flapped and took off out of the window.

"You have three days Katsu. Let's see how far this gets." /End Flash Back/

Meanwhile back in Konohakagure...

Katsuhiko took no time at all to break into the Hokage's office. Naruto hadn't been in here for the last few hours and the night shift of guards just started to change, Katsuhiko knew he would have approximately two minutes to grab the information and escape, which wasn't very hard but -oh what the hell, he loved breaking into things. He was a ninja for crying out loud! This is what he was born to do.

He found a manila folder with a blue tip, which read "Mission 456", inside was a mug shot of Naoko and her parents. She was to be bound and under extreme surveillance. "This... this is too extreme. I know she was practicing, but I suppose even our protection wasn't enough to help guide her on her own. Fine, I know what needs to be done." The next stop was going to be the Nara house. Katsuhiko's blood boiled at the thought of _his_ Naoko being tamed like an animal. '_Wait what? Brain, stop being possessive of your team mate, she belongs to no one, if anything you belong to her. This is my mission, which is more than to bust her out of that joint; it's to protect her for the rest of my life. She'll never be bound by me. Or anyone else." _

Blood shot eyes sprang open and stared into glowing yellow eyes. Hinagi was going to head butt the prick who thought it safe to wake him from his sleep. He'd had a case of insomnia for the last week and he had _just _gotten to sleep. "This better be good Katsuhiko. I swear to whatever sushi chef out there that your ass is grass if you are waking me up for a fucking prank." Although his voice was flat, the annoyance was defiantly there.

"Kami no! Shit Hinagi, Naoko-chan is in trouble!" He threw the purple haired man's kunai pouch to him and cloak then stepped up on to the window ledge once more. "Hurry up and get ready! We have to head out here soon to beat her and her father to the Land of Waves."

Hinagi rolled out of bed, slipping his shoes on and gear. He grumbled but took off the window after Katsuhiko. "That's right; you're from the Land of Waves. That's about a two day trip if we go at our fastest rate. However you woke me up at my worst hour."

Katsuhiko nodded skipping a few steps and jumping to the next roof top. "I know man I'm sorry, take some of the military supplement pills, we should be able to make it to the Waves Council before them if we travel through the night. I know where they are stopping to rest and a short cut. I have a favor to cash in on anyways."

Hinagi grinned catching up again, regaining his strength from that small brown pill, "It pays to have family in a royal branch doesn't it?" Hinagi remembered that his family wasn't too different and that it did have his perks when he went home, with the special treatment and all.

"I guess so man. I guess it just pays to have a sister like mine. She'll understand Naoko-chan's situation."

Hinagi was updated then on Naoko's whereabouts and her binding ritual. "Isn't it true that the Hokage has ties in the Land of Waves? I thought you transferred to our academy because of that."

"Yes. The main reason why the academy had started taking in future shinobi was because of the Hokage's efforts to create friendships in other lands. Mine was the third, next to Suna and Tani. Mutsume made me come here for experience and to learn better self-control..." It wasn't bad of her to send him but he was originally the one who wanted to do things alone. However the last four years had trained him to work with people, to really understand different points of view and how to attack a situation, whether physical or information wise. He was grateful for that.

"Mutsume knows that when I ask something of her that I'm not doing it lightly, considering I've never asked for anything. She'll understand that we can't let this happen to Naoko. She also knows that we have worked hard on the virus that has affected Konohakagure for the last four years. My sister and I are in this particular situation, if her father takes her ability to use even the slightest bit of chakra away, he could jeopardize our research and all of our generation's lives."

Hinagi wasn't about to question that risk. He knew too well that both Naoko and Katsuhiko were humanoid children, created from the Thunder of Radiant Flames jutsu. However, since the development of that jutsu, the children born from that were under risk of a new chakra eating virus. The cause is unknown but only to effect humanoid children. Hinagi and Katsuhiko didn't waste another moment, picking up their speed significantly as they ran out of Konohakagure and sped to the Land of Waves.

Everyone was chanting. This low hum, which was almost drowning out my thoughts, although pleasant, keeping in time with the raging storm outside, was slightly intimidating. My father methodically was placing seals and scriptures on the floor. They began to glow a blue haze as the humming got louder. These Anbu seemed to of been preparing for this day for quite some time, but I had faith. Faith that this wasn't my destiny, I can't talk about destiny since I don't know much about that, but if I did, I would think this is not the way it was supposed to go.

The temple we were in was old and I doubted the strength of this place physically, but spiritually I know it has held some important religious gatherings. This building was open to the waves just outside, every tide crashing into the wooden frames down below, feeling slightly stronger than they needed to be. I wasn't sure that there was supposed to be such a storm brewing in, but then again, I wasn't sure this is a natural storm either...

"Naoko, you need to keep still. I'm going to start the seal now." I guess I was shaking from anticipation, though I couldn't budge to nod to him, my heart was thumping in my ears. With each thump that I heard, I could see the Anbu create a different hand sign, chanting a new syllable. This was becoming unbearable; I felt my father's hand make swift movements before touching the back of my neck next to my spinal column. There. In what felt like a lightning bolt taking everything I had, I could feel my chakra stop flowing and slowly retreating back, the sigils on the floor were retracting and the blue aura traveled up my arms and onto my neck and back. This intense burning scorched my insides and face, making me scream out as my eyes rolling back into my head.

Sasuke's hand trembled, his heart clenching for his daughter's pained cries, he didn't want this but it was the only way to protect her. There was something wrong though, his vision was getting blurry. It wasn't tears, the room was starting to fog and shake, the tides outside were crashing much harder than before and he could have sworn he heard thunder and more rumbling. He needed to finish this seal so continuing with his and the Anbu's chanting he worked to keep the seals moving.

Then just as the last of the sigils on the floor were un-raveling and traveling up Naoko's arms, the temple shook with great force, blowing off the roof and sending salty water into room. Sasuke's hand flew off from his daughter's and the sealing automatically retracted, sending ripples through the floor. Though the sea water was cold for this time of year, it immediately sizzled hitting Naoko's skin as the sigils un-raveled and washed her out on to the crashing waves outside.

"Now, get her!" an unfamiliar voice cried out, Sasuke saw her washing out to sea as she screamed out in pain rather than fear, she went under. He scrambled to get to her, diving down under the water to reach her. '_No Naoko not again!' _Before he could reach her sinking body, a swirl of energy appeared in front of her, and a masked ninja. He grabbed her and went through the swirl, teleporting away. Before Sasuke had time to kick forward and reach, she was gone. Nowhere to be found he reached the surface again, gasping for breath.

He cried out louder this time, punching the water screaming her name.

Naoko woke again bound in a blanket and being hovered over. She was traveling but not sure where to, but noticed who she was with due to his chakra. She looked up at the pale skin with shimmering eyes, threatening to fall with tears. "Y-you, you guys made it." The masked ninja chuckled and looked down towards her. "Hey beautiful, you won't believe the jutsu we just pulled off." The purple haired ninja continued jumping through the branches and holding her tighter. The red haired ninja following behind, covering their tracks…

* * *

A short chapter, but gives you something to help push you along. I haven't gotten any reviews yet... so either this sucks as a fanfiction or no one gives two shits enough to actually review. Oh well, I'm not that butt hurt, I'm just gonna keep writing. Eventually I'll start getting reviews or nasty comments. Who'll be the first to do either of those things? :D


	4. Chapter 4 - A New Look

Chapter 4: A new look

Once Hinagi and Katsuhiko deemed it safe enough from the oncoming danger that would be Leaf Anbu, Hinagi sat Naoko down against a trunk of a tree and pulled back her robe to see the unfinished binding marks on her shoulder and arm. "S-so tell me about that... awesome jutsu you guys pulled off..." she said weakly smiling.

Katsuhiko knelt next to her and cupped her cheek, "It is a jutsu known to my family. The jutsu allows us to create huge tides until they are almost tsunami level. I think Hinagi put most of his strength in that one, I know I did." Then trailing a finger over the blue sigils on her shoulder they started to glow a light blue and he could feel his chakra being slightly absorbed by them. Retracting his hand like it hurt, he noticed Hinagi move his hand while inspected the seals. "It looks like Sasuke didn't finish in time. Which is good, but this has wreaked havoc on her body. I need to release the jutsu before it dampers her anymore."

As they laid her down on the ground, her eyes flickered open while her mouth twisted in pain. "Ugh, it feels like I have a hundred pound wet blanket on me..." She glanced down at her arm and sighed, thankful it wasn't complete but worried about it coming off. Katsuhiko gripped her hand firmly but just nodded at her. "This will be just a moment Naoko-chan, shouldn't hurt as it did when it went on."

With lightning fast moves, Hinagi created the reverse hand signs to this particular binding jutsu, and placed his glowing green hand on her forearm. He felt her shift, but the sigils started to unravel and follow up his hand and around his ring finger. After about a moment, the last of the sigils were completely removed from Naoko, which now rested permanently on his finger in a Celtic design that was similar to a ring. He clenched his fist a few times looking at the front and back of his hand before standing up to glance at the surrounding area.

Naoko looked up at him in worry but sat up feeling much better. "You put that binding on yourself and now you're tailored to me" She pulled her robe up on to her shoulder again and let Katsuhiko pull her to her feet. "Let me see your hand really quick, I think I can help-"

He shook his head before glancing at her. "It's not important now Naoko, I wanted you to be able to use your chakra for this cure. For your freedom, unlike you and Katsuhiko, I can use more of my chakra, so this won't damper me as much as it has you. It just means I'm going to get some re-enforcements soon to help us steer clear of your parents."

Her eyes sunk at the sound of that. She knew her fathers wouldn't let this stand for a second and she was terrified at all who they'd send. If she had to deal with either of her grandparents, she may have to be reduced to nothing but a porcelain doll for the rest of her life under their watch. But this wasn't a time to be scared about Naruto or Sasuke. Right now they needed to find shelter and get a head start on moving to the next village. They gathered around as Hinagi pulled his hand over an unraveled scroll and play with his sand to make the world map.

His hand danced along the Fire Country and down to the Wave country. He emphasized the Wave Country and pulled up the escape routes. "From where we are now, there is the Great Naruto Bridge and six ports that lead to the Water Country, Whirlpool country, and Tea Country. We can attempt travel by foot through the Fire Country to get to any of the Southern areas, but our chances of being caught are almost ninety five percent."

Katsuhiko chimed in then, sliding his mask to the side to get a better view. "I have a feeling the search team sent out to find us will hit those places first, especially in Suna. I know the Hokage will round up his team mates there and have the group do just about anything. I recommend we go to the most Northern part of the Wave Country and meet with my sister. She can help up get passes to those ships and new identities; from there we can travel to our sister country, and ask for help."

Hinagi nodded but started to disagree about going with what the Hokage may already assume. Katsu countered back that anything is possible at this point and they just needed to get a move on.

Naoko watched the two of them point at the map and change the route for a few moments. She knew about Katsuhiko's extended family in the Water Country. They had some of the best medical practitioners there and more of the equipment that she would need to continue their research. Getting frustrated with their arguing she held her hand out above the map and caught their attentions. "How about we go with plan A, which is to make arrangements to go to Water Country? Katsuhiko, did you take that parcel to Tsunade like I'd asked?"

He nodded and held his hand to his head in a salute "Yes, Tsunade was to make that batch of the Akimichi 2.0 pills and send them out to a post here in Wave. By now, they should have arrived and placed safely." Hinagi looked confused at him and turned to Naoko. "Akimichi? Do you mean those pills that max out your chakra and use all of the calories in your body to do so?"

"Yes you're correct. However, I've modified them. I found the link in those pills that will use what calories we have to use as chakra, and combined it with the military capsules that gives us strength for three straight days and nights. Only, there is no lag after using them. At least not in Katsuhiko and I. From our previous trials and surveys, humanoids like us who start to lose their chakra around age 5 or 6 will lose that chakra for good. Thankfully through taijutsu training we can help slow that process down, but it will catch up to us eventually, however in regular shinobi, the extra energy for those three days and nights will run ragged on you and will need a few more days to catch back up."

He nodded and sealed the scroll up again replacing it in his side pouch. He then learned that Naoko and Katsuhiko had found a dual link in both types of pills that will help the group keep up their strength while running from the Leaf Anbu and whatever team Naruto may send out to find them. After an added round of information circled the group, they broke and leaped into the trees, in search of the parcel that was hidden by that familiar of Tsunade's.

It didn't take long for the three of them to meet up in a clearing just outside of a small section of rice fields. Just before an opening into the next forest, a small shrine was placed with mini Bodhisattva's placed around. There had been incense burning not too long ago and some sweets placed at the altar of the shrine. Naoko bent down just enough to see a small bag hanging inside of the altar. With an offering of a cut off piece of her bindings, she replaced the bag. Bowing in thanks for protecting the small bag she stood and smirked to the two boys.

Hinagi looked at her in question. "Are those the Akimichi pills?" She nodded and had everyone place their hands out, giving them equal parts. "Yes, I think this was good thinking on my part. I'm not a genius but I have seen my parents do this enough that I guess it stuck." she stuck her tongue out and winked at the two of them. "Okay, we got these. Now we need to change up our looks before traveling. Katsuhiko, you're from around here, do you know any shops we could get some new threads at?"

"Well, yeah!" He exclaimed as he licked his fingers. Naoko turned and did a double take at him, making a horrified look at the crumbs on his cheeks. "You just ate the sweets! How dare you, they was for the spirits!" Her mouth couldn't have dropped any lower to the ground.

"What?" he said licking his thumb, "It's not like the spirits can actually eat this stuff. Besides I'm sure that they get plenty of other offerings every day of the year by my people. Two sweet cakes won't do that much harm." Next thing he knew he was being sent into a tree, rattling the branches and falling down. Hinagi cracked his knuckles and shook his head. "You're heartless. It doesn't matter if the spirits can eat it or not, it wasn't meant for you. Now stop upsetting Naoko and lead us to the shops."

Katsuhiko grumbled rubbing his now red throbbing face as he made his way down the rice field. "Some friends you are... no sweets..."

Naruto paced back and forth in his office, kicking his desk every time he passed it. Sasuke visible flinched each time. Passing by his desk again, Naruto just kept shaking his head, ruffling his hair and grumbling to himself. He was so livid, the thought his daughter being kidnapped was his worst dream come true. He knew she was wanted by Orochimaru's followers and the rumor of her being Jinchuuriki had spread like wild fire with the surrounding countries. Although no one would believe him, the enemies were out on a bounty they would never receive, he had made sure that under every pretense she would be protected. Even with the best Anbu, here he was worrying himself sick over the whole situation.

"I can't believe this Sasuke!" His fist slammed against the window seal. Sasuke flinched for the hundredth time. He sighed and made his way toward the blond, putting a warm hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I know. We just-" he was cut off before Naruto put a hand over Sasuke's and gripped it tighter. "I'm going after her. I need to find my little girl." He whipped around before Sasuke could take a breath, leading to his desk to pull out scrolls, placing weapons in them and raveling them up, now he was slamming kunai and shuriken on to the scrolls now, making a stack of papers fall the to the floor.

"Naruto, wait. You can't act so rash when you have all of Konoha to still protect." Sasuke pushed Naruto back in his seat and stared him in the eye.

"I'm not going to sit here all stoic like you while they have my baby! They will turn her inside out just like Madara tried to do with me and the Kyuubi! Don't you understand Sasuke?! If she can't use her chakra she can't protect herself, if she does use it, it's going to kill her either way. She will die without us." He screamed at Sasuke. All his anger and fear was building up and his cool Hokage image was starting to tear at the seams. Sasuke could feel him shaking and he was just as hurt as Naruto was. He tried once more to reason with him.

"Naruto, I know how you feel. Trust me on this when I say we need to get a search team out as soon as possible to make sure she makes it home safe." The raven put his forehead to Naruto's and grabbed his hand, squeezing it firmly. Naruto let out a shaky breath, his lip threatening to tremble and tears pricking the back of his eyes. "I'd give this all up in an instant Sasuke, to make sure she'd come back safe. I'd do anything. Even give my life."

"Don't talk like that dobe. I know you would, I would too. I would of done anything to rewind back to the moment she flew out of my grasp in that storm. I feel that was planned, I know that was no normal storm. I don't know who is after her, but I promise I will find her. She will be back home safe with us. I'll do everything in my power to make sure so." He tilted back and urged Naruto to get up with him.

"I know you will." Naruto looked him straight in the eyes and let out a firm breath again. He stood and wiped his cloak straight, rubbing his face and nose. "Send in Shikamaru. I want Team Gai as well as Team Azuma. Make sure they are here within the hour. I want everyone ready to go by tomorrow morning." Sasuke nodded. "Hai." and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The two shinobi's mouths dropped to the floor and had eyes as wide as saucers "What did you do to your hair?!" Katsuhiko and Hinagi both stared in shock as Naoko walked out of a ramen shop burping. The three had split up for the hour to get some new attire and hopefully throw off any leads that ambush the other day may have caused. Naoko blushed and rubbed the back of her hair, just grinning like a fool to the both of them.

"What? Do you not like it? I thought I needed a change." Before, with two long flowing thick locks of blond hair, she resembled too much like her father's female genjutsu. She didn't mind it when she was younger, but recently being a shinobi, it was always getting in her way. Now, with lighter hair, she sported a Mohawk that had a single braid go up the side of her hair. The rest was pulled back into a long pony tail. Not as long as her hair was before, but long enough to still get in the way without proper restraints. "Besides, the search party for me will have a little more of a difficult time looking for a girl with pig tails, and well since I don't have any..." she shrugged looking at the two of them.

"I think..." Katsuhiko walked around her a few times, poking at the spiky strands. "Well... it's definitely different." He then smiled evilly and tugged on the back of her hair where her pony tail started and she let out a whelp before a mad blush married her face. "Whelp it's all good as long as I can get a handful in, yah know?" he grinned and elbowed Hinagi in the ribs, he stepped aside as he looked at Naoko. Naoko let out a grunt as her face turned a deathly red. Hinagi could have sworn he saw steam come out of her ears.

One minute Katsuhiko is laughing his ass off and the next he is getting hit with an enlarged fist and being sent flying backwards into a stand of fresh flowers. He shakily crooked his head up and stared at her scared.

"Try that shit again and you'll learn what it's like to be fish food! CHA!" She turned on her foot and strutted past him heading toward the ramen shop once more. Hinagi looked at the red haired man again an grinned. "I wonder how you are always able to find her spots Katsu." Katsuhiko brushed himself off and made his way over to Hinagi, nursing his whacked cheek.

"Do you think it's that time of month again for her? That hurt a little more than usual." Totally evading the question, his cheek was starting to swell now and he could only imagine her painting her nails with a venomous nail polish. He shivered at the possibility.

"Maybe, she has been eating more lately. I mean do you know how many bowls of ramen she's been through this last hour?" Hinagi said with wide eyes. He'd never thought he'd seen anyone else other than Naruto be able to scarf down about six bowls of super-sized udon ramen with vegetables and broth like that, but here Naoko was almost doubling it, only stopping because she knew she'd run out of money if she kept it up.

"Dude, when isn't Naoko-chan eating? She's like her father, could eat a cow and not gain a pound either. I love her metabolism." Katsuhiko grinned again and continued to walk with Hinagi as they caught up to the ramen shop. Inside they could hear her slurping down more noodles and cussing up a storm about how men are just so damn predictable.

"Her metabolism? Really? All the things that Naoko is, you complement her metabolism?" Hinagi looked at him as if he thought Katsuhiko could magically turn apple pie into butter.

"Well it was either her metabolism or her ass." He stated nonchalantly. Hinagi visibly had a vein pop out on his forehead before he whacked Katsuhiko on the other side of his face. "Do you have no shame?"

"Ow! Why must you hit me all the damn time! I swear dude, this is becoming an abusive relationship, I don't know if I can commit anymore." Hinagi wanted to grimace but kept his cool. Instead, he just stared at Katsuhiko.

"Fine then, what should I complement her on so she'll forgive me?" Katsuhiko now rubbed both sides of his face, pouting.

"Well I don't know about you, but have you ever notice her orbs?" dark eyes hit the floor and a small smile tugged at his mouth.

"You mean her tits? She hides those all the time though; I've never gotten a good view."

"No you fool! Her eyes! Sheesh get your mind out of the gutter!" He swung at Katsu's head again but the red haired man manage to step back just in time.

"But you know if it weren't for the gutter my mind would be homeless! Come on; give me one of those romantic lines you always use. I've heard you recite some mushy lines before that I'm sure would make any girl, or guy melt." Katsuhiko's eyes almost sparkled.

Hinagi fought to hold back a blush. He remembered a few times when Katsu had walked up on him a few times reciting some of his poetry that he was working on for the blonde girl. Though he'd never admit to having a crush on her, let alone writing poetry…

"Why don't you complement on how blue her eyes are? It's a rare color for eyes now a day. The only other people to have those eyes are Naruto. I have never met a blonde hair blue eyed individual anywhere else. Start with something like… 'I fell in love with your eyes, your eyes that remind me of the sky and the heart of the ocean'" Hinagi stated looking up into the sky noticing the slow moving clouds. He didn't notice Katsuhiko writing some of this down in a flip notebook before he sheathed it back into his chest pocket.

"Yeah, that's pretty romantic dude. Thanks. Oh there she comes now. I guess we need to get a move on huh?"

Naoko then walked up to them her face content as she patted her full stomach. "I think I have a food baby. That was the best second helping of ramen ever." She then belched explosively almost startling the both of them. She giggled before turning again and pointing to nowhere in particular. "Let's get a move on! We have things to see and people to do!"

Katsuhiko couldn't hold back a chuckle as he slapped Naoko's shoulder walking by her crossing his arms. "I think you mean things to do and people to see, Naoko-chan."

"Same difference!" She blushed and caught up with the two. The three of them put on their masks and nodded to each other. In an instant they were sprinting towards the trails that lead into the mountains, heading straight toward the mansion of the Waves leader. They didn't notice a set of eyes from a nearby shop watching them race toward the mountain's entrance.

The moon was shining bright tonight, seven pairs of eyes were staring into the forest waiting for the leader with his hands in his pockets to finally brief them on the next movement.

"Alright gang. This mission is to be as quick as possible; we need to find the Hokage's daughter. We all know her, she isn't as troublesome as our Hokage use to be, and although she is strong willed she is weak in the world where she can't use her chakra." Everyone nodded at this and stepped in closer. A tail wagged as a hand reached down to scratch the ears of the beast. "She was last seen in Waves right? Then let's start there and work on some clues to see where she may be taken next."

"That's right. This is going to be troublesome since we can only assume that she has been kidnapped by some henchmen who use to work under Orochimaru. Naruto has concluded that they are deluded to thinking that Naoko is a Jinchuuriki. However, we all know she isn't but that won't stop them from draining what's left of her unique chakra." The ponytail individual then shifts to the side and glances at a white pair of eyes that seemed determined to find the missing ninja.

"You'll be going to the northern part of waves, I want you to find any trace of her chakra and follow it. When the chakra line becomes stronger I want you to send the signal for the rest of us to come meet up. Do whatever possible to make sure she stays put."

"R-right." The quiet individual nodded with determination. He moved to another set of glowing slanted eyes. "You'll be sniffing her out. I want all leads possible in this group to work towards bringing her home safely and if you find anything suspicious report back to me immediately."

With a nod and bark the two grunted and stepped back. Finally the lazy eyes settled on the last two. "You guys will follow me; we will start at the temple in waves and collect data for now. If there is nothing to follow in two days' time, I want everyone to meet back at the bridge connecting us to Waves. Let's move out."

"Right!" they all scattered in separate directions. The wind blew by pleasantly after that.

SMACK.

Naoko grunted as she hit her own cheek. A small mosquito lay crushed in her hand. That was the fifteenth one in the last hour. She couldn't believe how many bugs were swarming this summer, but this made her think about something. Back at the academy they had started to learn about the migration habits of different types of insects, thanks to that wonderfully creepy teacher she had. She glanced down at the bug again, noticing a weird color on each of the legs.

Unlike the regular ones she had seen that had striped black and white legs, this one had red and black. This wasn't natural for mosquitoes and this clicked something wrong for her. She pulled out a vile from her back pack and scraped the insect into it, pushing a cork on it tightly. If she found any more, she was determined to keep them and run some tests later.

Not so much as ten minutes later, her legs started to wobble and she had to lean against a tree. Her vision doubling for a split second, 'this is weird' she thought, she'd never had her vision double from just walking up a mountain side…

"Naoko, is something the matter? We can rest; we've been at it for a few hours now." Hinagi called back. She shook her head rubbing her temples. "Giggidy" she chuckled "but no, I think it's just the altitude. I'm not use to heights like this. Don't worry, I'll drink some water and catch right up." She smiled briefly at him and leaned against the tree again, this time sliding down into a seating position.

"Oh no, I don't like the sight of that." Katsuhiko skipped down on to the same ledge she was at and position his backpack on to his front side. After giving her a drink of water, he pulled her up onto his back and held securely on to her legs. "Don't worry Naoko-chan; I'll get you up there. Man look at you, you're all bitten up from the bugs. I didn't think that there would be so many up here in the cold mountains like this." His lips had turned blue without him noticing and he was slightly shivering.

Hinagi stopped him and looked at both of them. "Katsuhiko, it's not cold up here yet. We've only gone about a quarter of the way up; we won't feel the temperature change for another hour. You're bitten up as well. Are you feeling dizzy or tired by chance?" He placed his hand on both of their foreheads.

Katsu swatted his hand away and re adjusted Naoko on his back. "Quit it. I'm a medic Ninja, I'd know if I was running any symptoms..." just as the words left his mouth, his eyes fluttered for a moment and his face begun to look like he had gotten drunk. He almost looked like a serious drunk, but then he about tipped to the side. Hinagi helped both of them down to rest for a moment, shaking his head at the two of them. "What is going on here?"

While he checked their vitals, a buzzing could be heard. Hinagi turned and whacked his hand to the back of his neck. That stung really bad he thought, was it a wasp or something? But before he could check his hand, he felt himself go limp on the ground in front of his two team mates. All three's world faded black.

Naoko was breathing shallowly, she felt how warm Katsuhiko's back was, and she snuggled deeper into his shoulder then faded into a cold sleep. She kept thinking of how she could always depend on the red head, no matter his antics or pranks, he was always reliable and a great friend. She remembered when they first met and how she thought he was so different from the rest of the rowdy kids at the academy.

"_Stop trying to pick a fight with me, I'm not scared of you!" Naoko, age 12 at this time, screamed as she was blocking hits from an older classmate. The other girl was whacking her and screaming obscenities. "Just because you're the Hokage's daughter doesn't give you special treatment!" The other girl screamed again. Just as the other kid was about to hit Naoko in the face, a hand caught the face and pushed her away. _

_Naoko looked up at a black sleeved, toned arm. He had tan skin and a blank expression, and that hair! It was like he had flames for hair. This was something that reminded her of her other father. He smiled gently and the other girl looked at him in astonishment almost immediately. _

"_Ka-Katsuhiko!" The girl squealed. "What are you doing? This bitch is trying to be tough shit saying she's better than the rest! Why are you stopping me?" He shook his head and kept his warm smile. _

_"Please Sanoke-san; you don't have to protect your popularity by getting into fights with younger classmates. She works just as hard as you to be the best that she can. That's all we are all asked for. Just leave it be." The girl was then turned around and pushed away. She grunted and walked away annoyed. He then turned his glance to her and smiled again, his eyes closing in a happy curve. _

"_I'm sorry about her; you're not hurt are you?" He glanced at her cheek and frowned. "You have a cut though, let me help with that." He took out a small ten from his shorts and dabbed his pinky into the green substance. He then placed it over her cheek; it was cool to the touch and smelt like mint. _

"_There, that will help with infection. Just make sure to clean it when you get home okay?" _

_Her eyes practically shimmered with sparkles. That touch, just from his pinky, sent shivers down her neck and made her hair stand on end. What was this feeling, could it of been the medicine? She nodded sheepishly and looked down. "Thanks. That's really cool of you. What is that stuff anyways?" _

_He smiled again and sat down on the rock next to her. "Cow piss." He said blatantly. She looked at him in utter disgust. He laughed and waved it off "It's just an ointment my family grows and sells at our clinic. I'm constantly getting cuts and scrapes so I carry this on me at all times." He tilted his head, gesturing for her to sit too. As she did his held out his hand to her. "I'm Katsuhiko, from the Land of Waves. Who might you be guppy?" _

_She looked at his hand then back at his face in question. She didn't want to touch his hand again in the event he'd feel that shiver too; also she questioned his sanity, what kind of joke was that? She looked at him with a tilted head, "I'm Naoko." She started, thinking for a minute she looked back up at him with her eyebrows knitted. "I'm from here. I am constantly getting into fights because everyone doesn't like the fact that I'm the Hokage's daughter." _

_He looked at her with no change in his expression. "I see. I think they are jealous." _

"_Hm?" she thought she heard it wrong. Who'd be jealous of her? The only thing they should be doing is leaving her alone, all she wanted to do was to study and find what she could be good at. She didn't like the idea of being the type to just sit around. She knew she couldn't use her chakra for anything right now, though she was determined to learn her family's traditional fire style jutsu. She wanted to make her dads proud. She didn't have anything for people to be jealous of right now..._

"_I think they are jealous." He repeated. She looked up and met his gaze. She felt spot lighted but listened anyways. "I think they know you're different. I mean, your parents had such a history here in Konoha. I know about those stories even in the Land of Waves. How Naruto and Sasuke had epic adventures and powerful days before returning to Konoha to settle down." _

"_Yeah, but that's all I ever hear. How great my parents are, but what about me? I don't want to live for my parent's legacy; I want to live for my own! I want to be something different, something... unique that no one has ever seen before! CHA!" She exclaimed with her fist pumped. She was almost panting by the end of that. Katsuhiko laughed again and grinned at her._

"_Then be unique! Fight for what you want and you'll out grow your father's legacy. Both of them! I believe in you." He stood up with her and held out his fist. "Let's do this!" _

_Without a second thought, she hit her fist with his. They shared a knowing smile and have been best of friends ever since. These were the memories most precious to Naoko. She wouldn't have traded her boys for the world, and this was going to be an adventure of a life time. She just knew it. _

* * *

Hello again! Thanks for following along if you have been. I felt good writing this chapter, also if you'd like to see the art work for my fanfiction you can go to my facebook and check em out! I'm doing action scenes and highlighted scenes. If anyone else would like to request me drawing something I do that as well! Thanks again and stay tuned for chapter 5~!


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